Plot – The teaser is great for two reasons; Kassidy is easily the most predictable answer to the question of who on the station might be a Maquis smuggler and yet it then promises to be a tense and terse thriller ahead as Sisko and security services attempt to prove that. There’s certainly an argument to be made that Sisko behaves in a compromised way because the person under suspicion is the person who shares his bed. This feels dynamic and uncomfortable because it means we are not only second-guessing Kassidy throughout, but Sisko too.
Character – How nice to feature one of the Captain’s of Starfleet in an ongoing relationship with a sparky, confident woman who can more than hold her own with him. See the universe didn’t explode. Seeing Sisko wake up next to Kassidy, flirt with her, try and drag her back to bed and then smell her pillow once she departs shouldn’t feel revolutionary (in any other franchise this would be second nature) but on Trek it is a huge leap forward in how you can portray the leads. And Sisko, the most human of all the Captains, embraces this relationship with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. So it is typical (in dramatic terms) that Odo and Eddington choose this moment to accuse Sisko’s lover of being a Maquis smuggler. His first reaction is to reject the claim but he knows as a Starfleet Officer he has to follow up on their suspicions. There’s a natural chemistry between Ben, Jake and Kassidy that makes breaking up this little family that is emerging all the more upsetting. There’s a very sweet moment when Sisko, after learning that Kassidy has met with a Maquis freighter, grabs Jake’s hand at breakfast and tells him their relationship is worth protecting even if other people come and go. It’s so refreshing to see such a wholesome father/son relationship on television. It’s only the fact that Kassidy chose to face her punishment rather than running that ultimately salvages their relationship.
You remember when Voyager planted Michael Jonas in their ranks and had him making secret communications with Seska? That was played out over the course of about ten episodes. Eddington is DS9’s attempt to do that but vastly superior because it plays out over two seasons and within that time Eddington has a vital role to play in a fair handful of episodes (The Search, The Die Is Cast, The Adversary, Our Man Bashir) and is very much part of the crew by the time his treachery is revealed. He is remarkably slick in how he orchestrates this entire affair; using Kassidy and Sisko’s feelings for her as a massive smokescreen before manoeuvring himself into the right position to steal the replicators. People have had their suspicions about Eddington for some time but its isn’t until he actually pulls out a phaser and guns Kira down that his true colours are revealed.DS9 is the ensemble where when nothing is said, it means a lot. During the briefing where they learn that Cardassia will be getting 12 CFI replicators, Worf, Kira and Odo clearly have very different opinions about that knowledge but they don’t have to say a word. In a fascinating moment, O’Brien expresses sympathy for the Maquis and their plight and you are left with no illusion that if his home had been handed over to the Cardassians then he would be one of them.
Is Garak attracted to Ziyal? I think there is one answer to that question and it doesn’t have to invalidate the opinion that he is hugely attracted to Bashir either. He’s Star Trek’s first openly bisexual character and a complex sexuality goes hand in hand naturally with his complex character. Bashir even looks a little grumpy and jealous when Garak expresses an interest and the most engaging thing that the writers could do with the character is for him to take a shine to Gul Dukat’s daughter (given their history) and a minor at that. As he mentions in this episode he is exiled, lonely and a long way from home. He misses the company of other Cardassians.
Performance – Avery Brooks really came out of his shell in season four. I’m not suggesting that he didn’t give fine performances in the earlier years but both the characterisation of Sisko and his performance both stepped up a notch once Worf joined the show and the series went to war. For the Cause is another showcase for the actor, showing him playing some morally dubious material. Brooks takes it all in his stride.
Great Dialogue – ‘I am a Starfleet Officer, the paragon of virtue’ ‘You’re more like a parody of virtue.’
‘Miss me?’ ‘Were you gone?’ ‘Admit it, without me you cried yourself to sleep.’
‘Nobody wants to leave paradise. Everyone should want to be in the Federation. Hell, you even want the Cardassians to join! You’re only sending them replicators because one day they can take their rightful place on the Federation Council. You know in some ways, you’re even worse than the Borg. At least they tell you about their plans for assimilation. You’re more insidious. You assimilate people, and they don’t even know it.’ Eddington condemns the Federation and what they stand for. I partly agree with what he is saying here. People have been shat on in order to maintain peace, the Federation does have a superior attitude that permeates through the Trek franchise and sometimes the politics of this great alliance are highly questionable. Eddington calls all that out. But he’s fighting bureaucracy with violence and that is where his argument falls flat. But there is much more on that later.
‘You know what, Mr Eddington? I don’t give a damn what you think of the Federation, the Maquis or anything else. All I know is that you have betrayed your oath, your duty and me. And if it takes me the rest of my life I will see you standing before a court-martial that’ll break you and send you to a penal colony where you will spend the rest of your days growing old and wondering if a ship full of replicators was really worth it.’ Eddington has gotten Avery Brooks mad. Big mistake.
Best moment – Kira storming into Garak’s shop, shoving him against the wall and threatening to do unspeakable things if he messes about with Ziyal. No other show would flaunt such open hostility amongst its core regulars.
That glorious moment of drama when Sisko realises he has been played, that the only reason he is commanding the Defiant and away from the station is because Kassidy is involved and that something is about to go down on DS9. Suspense is the key word and suddenly this episode has it in spades.
I wish they hadn’t done that – Sisko gives Kassidy an out in a scene that is so blatantly scripted that she would have to a fool not to spot the fact that he knows what she has been up to. It’s played as though she knows exactly what he is saying but she has made a commitment and she is going to follow it through. My issue isn’t the characterisation (which is as multifaceted as I expect on this show) but the fact that Sisko has no fallback in trying to aide and abet a terrorist sympathiser who is actively pursuing work that is anti-Federation. They would have had every right to throw the book at him. Conversely, I love the fact that he does try and save her before she is exposed because it makes him all the more human and flawed.
A reason to watch this episode again – Dark and sneaky, this tight character tale takes the Maquis storyline and makes it personal in a way it would never be again. For the Cause is pretty much all talk but it has a fantastic premise at its heart and drama springs forth because Sisko is put in an immediately compromising position. Everyone has been wondering about Kassidy and Eddington ever since they arrived on the station and now their true colours are revealed but in true DS9 style it saves the big dramatic moment for the character you expect the least of, rather than the one you expect the most of. Political and personal drama is DS9’s meat and potatoes and with a taut Ronald D. Moore script and some unforgettable performances (the last scene between Sisko and Eddington had me on the edge of my seat), this is another example of how this series pushed the enveloper with both of these things in a very impressive way. The answers this episode delivers aren’t pleasant, and neither are the things it says about Sisko and how his personal life can corrupt his command. It’s that kind of muckiness in television that I love.
****/12 out of *****
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